SMALL BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL LITERACY
The Australia Government provides many useful online training resources for small businesses, employees, and budding apprentices. These services are free and easy to access.
In fact, there are so many sites it may be difficult to know which ones best suit your needs. Therefore, this blog highlights a selection, to help you decide.
Employment legislation
The Fairwork Ombudsman website is treasure trove of information for employers and employees which covers every aspect of employment from hiring employees to employment termination. It covers all employment legislation in Australia except where certain states may have their own employment legislation, as well as Awards, leave, working conditions and employee contracts, performance and termination, immigration and working holiday makers.
A dedicated small business section on their site covers information about everything from hiring and paying employees to record keeping. See their Small Business Showcase.
There is a Young Workers and Students section which details how young potential employees can prepare themselves for work. Plus, it lists further links to other useful websites. Having employees who are more competent in managing their own lives only assists the strength of an organisation’s workforce and in turn, aids the business.
There are Tools and Resources to assist people to calculate things such as pay, leave and notice among other things. At surface level it is a very simple resource to access and use, given that employment itself is a complex and specialised area.
Training
Be Connected is a government initiative to help anyone improve their online skills. You may find something that interests you in the Be Connected Library.
My Skills Australia is a government initiative to allow people to easily search the register of national training providers for vocational education and training. It is an excellent resource, easy to navigate and provides a comprehensive overview of options for training. There is a lot of information given within each course, including information on any current government funding schemes alongside the length of the course, cost, and direct links to the training organisation.
You can search by a specific course, or by a specific training organisation. Whether you are setting out on your first career or wanting a career change, you can go through an exercise to help match your skills and interests with career paths and roles that either already exist in the marketplace or are emerging.
Apprenticeships
Apprentice subsidies and training subsidies change all the time. The best source of information may be your accountant or employer. If you are interested in training and want to find out if there is any subsidy or funding available to you, visit the Australian Apprenticeships website.
There are several State government websites too. For instance, the Queensland Department of Employment, Small Business and Training (https://desbt.qld.gov.au/). You can create an online account and receive their newsletter. This will keep you abreast of any new or existing State initiatives. For small business, there are plenty of resources. These are great reading if you are considering starting a business. Business structures will be covered in another blog.
Finding a Job/Employee
Many small businesses are searching for employees.
Websites for finding a job/employee change over time. SEEK, Jora, Indeed, Glassdoor and LinkedIn are currently amongst a host of popular sites. While there are still many recruitment agencies, the employment market has certainly shifted online.
Workforce Australia is an Australian Government employment website.
Quite a lot of websites offer job seekers assistance in writing a resume and interview techniques and Workforce Australia offers that too plus ideas for training opportunities.
Restart Wage subsidy program for businesses employing people aged over 50.
There are many qualification requirements for businesses to access the program. Restart eligibility criteria include; the prospective >50 years old staff member needs to have been on income support for six consecutive months. If the worker is hired there are ‘mutual obligation requirements’ between the Individual (worker) and the Provider. The Employer must be committing to at least 6 months of work for 20 hours minimum per week.
Note: The names of websites and programs can change when there is change in government or policy changes or announcements.
